Improving the biological activities of astaxanthin using targeted delivery systems

Abstract

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of astaxanthin (AST) enable it to protect against oxidative stress-related and inflammatory diseases with a range of biological effects. These activities provide the potential to develop healthier food products. Therefore, it would be beneficial to design delivery systems for AST to overcome its low stability, control its release, and/or improve its bioavailability. This review discusses the basis for AST’s various biological activities and the factors limiting these activities, including stability, solubility, and bioavailability. It also discusses the different systems available for the targeted delivery of AST and their applications in enhancing the biological activity of AST. These include systems that are candidates for preventive and therapeutic effects, which include nerves, liver, and skin, particularly for possible cancer reduction. Targeted delivery of AST to specific regions of the gastrointestinal tract, or more selectively to target tissues and cells, can be achieved using targeted delivery systems to increase the biological activities of AST.

Keywords:

• astaxanthin
• bioavailability
• cancer
• controlled release
• targeted delivery systems

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFD0901106), the Ningbo Public Welfare Key Program (2022S148), the Wenzhou Major Science and Technology Project (ZN2021002) and the Ningbo “3315 Series Program” for High-level Talent (2020B-34-G).